State of the Industry

Each year brings new and exciting changes and challenges to the pet-sitting industry. As the profession grows, so does the demand for industry profiles.

As an industry leader, Pet Sitters International partners with its large membership base for information through our voluntary State of the Industry Survey and Research Report. The report is produced every three years and focuses on topics such as:

• Pet sitter demographics
• Average prices for services
• Average gross income
• Average length of visit
• Typical numbers of employees and contractors
• Typical services provided by pet sitters

The results are in! In the 2008 survey, pet-sitter members report a trend in services that go well beyond feeding and caring for their customers’ animals. The top eight services demanded by clients include:

1. basic pet care
2. dog walking
3. care of special needs pets
4. pet transportation service
5. overnight pet-sitting
6. house-sitting with no pet
7. errand services
8. pooper-scooper services.

Some pet-sitting specialists report offering behavior, obedience and grooming services.

 

Who are these professional pet-sitters?

By far, they work for independently operated (98%), women-owned businesses (84%), and make an estimated 17.4 million visits per year to clients’ homes.

What made them choose this line of business?

Overwhelmingly, the response was a love of animals (55%), followed by the opportunity to be one’s own boss (15%) and the desire to leave the corporate job world (12%).

Who is buying pet sitting and related services?

Couples without children lead the list at 40.5 percent followed by couples with children (28.9%) and single females (24.6%). Pet owners are purchasing these services for a variety of reasons, including pet care during vacations, midday walks and visits, pet care needs that arise because of work schedules as well as puppy and geriatric pet care.